1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle type, off-road vehicle having a storage receptacle on a rear portion thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a saddle type, off-road vehicle having a saddle shaped seat similar to a motorcycle, a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels each provided with a balloon type, low pressure tire and swingably supported by a vehicle frame, and a relatively large storage receptacle provided on a rear portion of the vehicle for conveniently storing and transporting relatively large and heavy loads with the vehicle.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
There are many known saddle type, off-road vehicles, including many three and four wheeled vehicles. These known vehicles are normally equipped with balloon type, ultra low pressure tires for traveling through and over many different terrains. Although these vehicles have been primarily associated with recreational purposes, they have also been used for purposes other than recreation, such as for use in farm activities, ranch activities, forest activities, etc., because of their great ability to travel over many different terrains.
Although many of the known saddle type, off-road vehicles are provided with a carrier rack at front and/or rear ends thereof, it is difficult to protectively carry or transport loads (relatively large loads such as tools, camping equipment, luggage, etc.,) with most of the known saddle type, off-road vehicles. Further, most of these vehicles are not provided with any covered or partially covered storage space, which would be desirable in many situations.
In contrast to the general complete absence of covered storage space, two known saddle type, three wheeled vehicles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,562 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-128016, respectively, each of which includes a container positioned rearwardly of a rider's seat for containing loads such as items of clothing, a lunch, small articles of luggage, etc. The container disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,562 is rather small and, correspondingly, is capable of containing only small objects. The container disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-128016 is larger than that disclosed in the U.S. Patent, but to achieve this increased storage space it is necessary to position the container very closely above the vehicle's rear axle as shown in FIG. 4 of the publication. Such close positioning is undesirable because the container would tend to interfere with the vertical bouncing movements of the rear axle if the container is supported separately from the axle, and because the container would be subjected to excessive bouncing and vibrations if it supported together with the rear axle. Note, the Japanese Publication does not disclose how the container is actively supported on the vehicle, or how the container cooperates with the rear axle.
The present invention has been developed to overcome the above-discussed problems and disadvantages of known saddle type, off-road vehicles.